CURRENT MISSION

discovering new ways of knowing

ABOUT ME

I always get flummoxed filling out sections like this -- the really open-ended ones, like "tell me three things I don't know about you" -- well gosh, there are lots of things, but once I make a list of three, I'll realize they're not quite right -- and then it becomes more a game of whether I can conjure up three that appear witty, informative, and genuine without revealing that they were designed that way, to answer the question a particular way, rather than really provide a substantive response. But maybe that act in itself says a bit about me. Yeah, maybe it does.

But if the self-conscious babble isn't your speed, let me offer a few concrete descriptors. I'm a bit of a geek and love to talk about big ideas with other young people who are trying to figure out where they are in the world. I can be a little obsessive and neurotically self-aware, but I'd still consider myself rather easy to get along with. I find laughter easily and I seek to feel awe whenever I can. I love bookshops, just about everything about them. I love just about everything about the institution of tea - starting with good leaves, the aroma, swirling steam (sensual), the gift of being able to give a guest something to make them more comfortable, the conversation (social). And I find chopping, washing, steaming, frying, baking, stirring, kneading foodstuffs altogether too enjoyable.

PHILOSOPHY

Never tire of big questions.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

First-timer, but glad to get involved!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm still pretty new to couchsurfing — I surfed twice in 2008, to Geneva and Washington D.C., and met some amazing people. It's obvious to people in this network, but I learned that year how it might be possible to form such immediate, meaningful bonds with people from very different backgrounds.

Interests

The "All about me" section has this stuff embedded.

• coloring
• baking

Music, Movies, and Books

Right now,

I'm reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. Previously, I read The Counterlife by Philip Roth. Next I am reading The chronicle of San Gabriel by Julio Ribeyro and What is history? by EH Carr.

I'm listening to Andrew Bird, Guster, and Of Montreal.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The color of the sky every single evening of every single day.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, France, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom, United States